Emergency
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Updates in Pediatric Trauma, Part I
MONOGRAPH: New advances in diagnostic evaluation and treatment for the No. 1 cause of death and disability in children and adolescents.
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A Guide to When and How to Stop CPR
In cardiopulmonary arrest situations, the mnemonic CEASE (Clinical features, Effectiveness, Ask, Stop, Explain), provides a guide for clinicians on how to discontinue resuscitative efforts and effectively communicate with other clinicians and families.
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Survival in ARDS Can Be Predicted By Driving Pressure
Statistical models were applied to several large trials of ARDS patients undergoing lung protective ventilation strategies and found that decreases in driving pressure, or Δ P, were strongly associated with increased survival.
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Multiple Factors Contribute to Recovery of Physical Function After Critical Illness
Physical function after critical illness is influenced by clinical, physiological, and psychological factors that suggest a need for comprehensive interventions to promote recovery and quality of life.
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Nasal Screening for MRSA: The New Basis for De-escalation of Empiric Antibiotics?
The high negative predictive value of a negative nasal screen for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus suggests these patients do not have lower respiratory tract infections caused by the organism.
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Post-ICU Stress Symptoms Are Associated with Increased Acute Care Service Utilization for at Least One Year
In this prospective, longitudinal study of adult medical-surgical ICU patients, in-hospital substantial acute stress symptoms were associated with a greater risk of rehospitalization within 1 year post-ICU discharge; those with substantial post traumatic stress disorder symptoms at 3 months post-ICU also had a greater risk of future emergency department visits within the year.
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Misplaced NG tubes a major patient safety risk
Misplaced nasogastric and percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tubes pose a serious threat to patient safety and a liability risk for hospitals. New technology might improve the detection of misplaced tubes.
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Failure to diagnose infection causes toddler death and yields verdict of $1.72 million
Plaintiffs’ 3-month-old daughter was taken to the hospital with a high fever and elevated pulse rate. The ED physician diagnosed an ear infection and discharged the infant with a prescription for antibiotics. Days later she was diagnosed with pneumococcal meningitis, hypoxic brain injury, and hydrocephalus. She lived for 20 more months. Plaintiffs sued the hospital and the ED physician, and they won a verdict of joint and several liability for $1.7 million.
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Urinary Tract Infection
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common in the emergency department. In fact, UTIs were the most common bacterial infection encountered in ambulatory settings in 2007 and the most common primary diagnosis for women visiting the emergency department.
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State Medical Board Complaint Can Fuel ED Med/Mal Suit, and Vice Versa: Don’t “Go It Alone”
It’s difficult to imagine most emergency physicians (EPs) choosing to defend themselves in a malpractice lawsuit. However, many respond to state medical board investigations without legal representation. “Many medical board complaints end up being more serious than medical malpractice lawsuits,” says Ellen M. Voss, JD, a medical malpractice defense attorney at Williams Kastner in Portland, OR.